Bardoc Gold Limited (ASX: BDC) has announced highly positive initial results from the RC drilling program at the North Kanowna Star Project, within its Bardoc Gold project in WA.
The company reported that significant widths of alteration and gold mineralisation were intersected in the first round of RC drilling at North Kanowna Star.
Important assays include 4m @ 4.44g/t Au from 33m within a broader zone of 17m @ 1.59g/t Au from 26m; 4m @ 3.34g/t Au from 32m within a broader zone of 16m @ 1.29g/t Au from 32m; and 4m @ 3.72g/t Au from 85m within a broader zone of 14m @ 1.68g/t Au from 82m.
The company said that the volume of anomalous mineralisation intersected beneath the existing oxide resource highlights the potential for a large-scale gold system at North Kanowna Star.
BDC said that the RC drilling will resume this week. The company said that the diamond core drilling and geophysical targeting also being planned to unlock the potential of this emerging prospect.
The company said that the exploration drilling is continuing at the 79koz Mayday North Deposit.
Bardoc gold project
BDC’s 100%-owned Bardoc Gold Project is located 50km north of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. There are four main deposits and a multitude of smaller projects within the 250km2 landholding.
The company had recently acquired North Kanowna Star Project and Mayday North within its Bardoc Gold Project. BDC said that the North Kanowna Star deposit, comprising 32koz Au @ 1.4g/t Au, has had minimal exploration activity over the past 15 years.
Maiden RC drilling at North Kanowna
The company had commenced a maiden 1,400m Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling program at the North Kanowna Star Project. This comprised of 11 holes, NKC190001 – NKC190011.
BDC said that the first program of RC drilling has returned significant widths of gold mineralisation within a possible large gold-hosting structure, even though the exploration work at North Kanowna Star is at an early stage.
The company reported that the highly encouraging early results from North Kanowna Star have demonstrated the scale of the opportunity at the recently acquired deposit.
BCD said that the North Kanowna Star and Mayday North could provide significant exploration upside for Bardoc Gold, with the potential for significant additions to the Company’s project-wide Mineral Resource (Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resource of 49.426Mt at 1.9g/t Au for 3.022Moz).
High-grade intercepts
The company reported that all 11 holes drilled intersected mineralisation.
The most significant intercepts include 8m @ 1.26g/t Au from 132m (hole NKC190001); 17m @ 1.59g/t Au from 26m including 4m @ 4.44g/t Au from 33m (hole NKC190002); 4m @ 2.23g/t Au from 17m (hole NKC190006); 16m @ 1.29g/t Au from 32m including 4m @ 3.34g/t Au from 32m and; 14m @ 1.68g/t Au from 82m including 4m @ 3.72g/t Au from 85m (hole NKC190007).
Extensive alteration system confirmed
The company reported that the assay results from the RC drilling completed at North Kanowna Star prior to Christmas, combined with a geological assessment of the deposit, have confirmed the presence of an extensive alteration system with significant gold mineralisation located below the existing oxide resource.
Mayday North
BCD reported that RC and diamond drilling is continuing at the Mayday North Project, with assay results expected to be received in the coming weeks.
Updates and next steps
The company reported that RC and diamond core rig will remain at Mayday North until later this week. The RC rig will then move to North Kanowna Star for extensional and follow-up drilling targeting a high-grade gold feeder system.
BDC said that exploration work may involve the drilling of more drill holes, both DC and RC, to further extend the mineralised zones and to collect additional detailed data on known and as yet unidentified mineralized zones.
It may be noted that the work by Newcrest in 1999/2000 included a gravity survey that has an interpreted an intruded porphyry at depth below the oxide mineralisation. This work by Newcrest was never followed up nor expanded upon providing Bardoc with an outstanding opportunity.
The company said that geophysical work is being planned to better understand the location and influence of several deeper intrusive bodies at Mayday North and North Kanowna Star in order to develop a better understanding of their influence on the broader mineralising systems at each project.
Management comments
Bardoc Gold’s Chief Executive Officer, Robert Ryan said: “When we acquired North Kanowna Star last year, we had a very positive view on the potential upside at the project given that it had seen virtually no exploration over the past 15 years. That view has been firmly vindicated by these early results from a limited program of RC drilling completed prior to Christmas.
This is the first time a focused exploration program has tested the extensions of the supergene mineralisation into fresh rock, and it has provided multiple mineralised intercepts – importantly within much broader zones of alternation and anomalous gold that suggests we have a very fertile gold system on our hands at North Kanowna Star. A follow-up program of RC drilling will start later this week to in-fill previously drilled sections.
At the same time, we are planning diamond core drilling to help us gain a better idea of the structural controls in parallel with geophysics, to help determine where the source of the mineralisation may be.The Company will continue to grow its satellite projects to ensure that any potential operation at the Bardoc Gold Project will have a long, sustainable life. Our Pre-Feasibility Study based on the existing 3.02Moz Resource are well advanced and will be released later this quarter.”